Heroes of the Arcane
by Ania the Dragon
Summary: Izuku is quirkless, but that doesn't stop him from dreaming of being a great hero. When All Might, tells him that there can't be a quirkless hero, Izuku is sad – he expected something different from his idol. Not that it matters. Izuku has other means of of becoming a hero - namely a deck of seemingly ordinary Tarot cards…
1. Chapter 1

A/N: **I don't own Boku no Hero Academia or Fate/Stay night!**

You don't need any in-dept knowledge of the Nasuverse, just the very basic.

* * *

『 _Have you heard the legends of the Heroes of Old? From the times when Hero's strength was measured by the heart, not the might of arms?_ 』

* * *

All men are not created equal. That's the truth Midoriya Izuku learned at the age of four. At the age when majority of the mankind develops a strange power called 'Quirk.' You see, these unique powers are what determines one's worth and place in the society. And with a powerful quirk, one can even become a hero!

Yes, it is indeed possible to have a professional career as a hero. To battle villains, to save lives. That's a dream of many children. But to fulfil that dream, they need a powerful quirk. That's why every child eagerly awaits their fourth birthday; it's around this age that quirks usually manifest. For many, this is the important milestone in their lives.

It was for Izuku, too. Only in the worst way imaginable.

You see, Izuku longs to be a hero.

But in this day and age, a soul as bright as his has no chance of becoming one, unless he has a proper Quirk.

Which he does not.

A shame, truly.

* * *

『 _It's not the Sword that makes the Knight. It's the Heart, the Kindness of the Soul._ 』

* * *

There is mockery and laughter, whenever he mentioned his dream. There is the name-calling, mean comments. And of course, bullies. Including his former childhood friend, Bakugou Katsuki.

Or Kaa-chan, how Izuku used to call him. He still does, even if it annoys Bakugou. Maybe that's why Izuku does it. Or maybe it's a force of habit. It matters not.

Kaa-chan is probably the worst, out of all of his bullies. And there's no shortage of those. Kaa-chan's quirk, Explosion, hurts as much as his words. And Kaa-chan has no qualms using both.

To make the matters worse, the adults pretend not to see this. Mainly the school staff. They probably want to keep the school record clean of any problems, so they close their eyes and cover they years. That way, they don't have to acknowledge that there is something _wrong_ with the way the children behave. Because that doesn't happen, not in this school. Right? RiGhT!?

Izuku's mother, however, that's a different story altogether. Midoriya Inko is a kind soul, much like her son. She always cries when she sees him covered in bruises and cuts. And every time, he tells her it's just his own clumsiness that's at fault. He feels bad for lying, but Katskuki's mother is Inko's best friend, and Izuku knows that telling her Katsuki bullies him would strain that friendship. So he swallows his pain and tears, and lies to his mother once again.

* * *

『 _O, Hero. How swiftly your End approaches._ 』

* * *

Izuku finds solace in the library. He can work here, in relative peace, on his notes and quirk analysis. Because even if he doesn't have a quirk of his own, he still finds them extremely interesting, and nothing is stopping him from learning all about them. So he does just that.

He learns about the quirk classification, about the theory behind them. About the quirks of the Pro-Heroes. After all, Izuku is a big hero fanboy. The "modern" heroes fanboy, that is. He knows nothing about the Legends that resonate throughout the history of mankind. Just like for the rest of this world, they are no longer important.

A shame, indeed…

Izuku's visits to the library always follow the same pattern. He goes in, sits down, and delves into the theories and analysis, often muttering or frantically scribing down into his notepad. The librarian always just smiles gently; Izuku truly is a wonderful child. Too bad the people can't look past his quirkless status.

This time, however, something is different. The pattern changes, just a tiny bit; a small ripple on an otherwise calm pond surface. But it's enough to change the course of things. Sometimes, even the flap of butterfly's wings can create hurricanes.

What happens is – Izuku finds a stack of cards, all but abandoned, on one of the shelves. They are old, brownish-red in colour, with golden details. He takes them down from the shelf to get a better look at them. He's curious by nature, after all.

After a closer inspection, he deduces they're Tarot cards. Which would explain why they are so worn out; in this day and age, nobody really believes in fortune being read from cards, not when there are clairvoyance quirks.

Still, Izuku marvels at their beauty. Even if a bit faded, the golden details are still prominent, the designs elaborate and drawn with precision. The other sides of the cards depict a humanoid figure. Each is different, either by position or by the items that surround the figure. Izuku likes them very much, but they're not his to keep, so he takes them to the librarian.

"Excuse me," he calls a bit nervously after the librarian, "but I found these on one of the shelves, what should I do with them?"

The librarian glances at the cards and smiles.

"Oh, these? They've been here for as long as I remember, nobody ever came back for them. You can keep them, if you want to."

"Really?" Izuku is surprised, but excited at the same time. He isn't even sure why, those are just some old cards.

"Yes. They're better of with you than lying on the shelf here, collecting dust." The librarian smiles again, gently.

"Thank you very much!" Izuku smiles gratefully and puts the cards in his bag. He will look at them again when he arrives home.

And as it often is, he won't truly discover their significance until much, much later.

* * *

『 _And should the Fires dim, then we all shall fall into the Darkness…_ 』

* * *

"Why don't you take a swan dive off the roof? Maybe you'll get a quirk in the next life!"

Those words continue to haunt Izuku as he stands on the school roof. Kaa-chan said them with a voice full of mockery and with a sneer on his face. They are horrible word to said to someone, regardless of how seriously were they meant. They are all children, still.

What's even worse, Izuku actually considers taking this 'advice'. He's tired of all the laughter and mockery; everybody has a breaking point and Izuku is slowly reaching his. He clenches his hands into fists. He can't take much more of the mean words, they hurt way more than the punches and kicks. He steps closer to the edge of the roof. He can end it right now. All the pain would go away.

He's preparing to take another step, the one that'll seal his fate forever, when he hears a voice:

" **That is the least logical step you can take right now."**

Izuku franticly looks around, startled, but the roof is empty.

"What… who said that?"

The only answer he gets is a light chuckle.

" **Ah, why don't you step away from the edge, and use that brain of yours for a change?"**

Izuku does so, while searching furiously for the owner of the voice. Is somebody hiding somewhere on the roof?

The voice answers his unspoken question, clearly amused.

" **Your see, but you do not observe. There's a quite clear distinction between those."**

"That's not helpful!" Izuku cries, a bit hysterical. He has no idea if he's going crazy and that voice exists only in his head, or if it's something else. He runs his fingers through his hair, trying to calm his nerves down. As he lowers his hand, he notices that there's a faint light coming from the pocket of his pants. He reaches in, and pulls out the deck of Tarot card he barely remembers taking this morning with him, for whatever reason. The card on top, depicting a man in a jester hat, is glowing.

Only, the picture on the card has changed. Izuku stares at the cards, baffled. The card no longer looks so worn out, in fact, it seems brand new, the colours rich. The picture now depicts a man with a distinctive features, not just a humanoid silhouette. The man has a short dark hair, seemingly bluish, and pale skin. His clothes are odd: a long brown coat, clearly out of this century and a pair of white gloves. The man in the picture is holding a pipe, and there are magnifying glasses all around him. There is the number '0' above the man's head and the words 'The Fool', written below.

Izuku has no idea what to think about that. Has he gone crazy? Is he seeing things?

" **Found me at last. See? It's not that hard when you look properly at what is around you."**

The voice is somehow connected to the change of the card's picture, Izuku just knows it. Only… this is not a quirk, is it? He's never heard of a quirk that would do something like that. Whatever that is.

He checks the other cards, none of them has changed, only the first one. Izuku looks at it again, unsure what to do, or even what to think. All of this is so weird. But he figures that the voice may have the answers he needs. So he should probably ask. Easier said than done, however.

It takes him several minutes to find the courage to ask; the voice says nothing during all this time, but Izuku is somehow sure it's still there. And probably very amused.

"What…" Izuku swallows, suddenly very nervous, "does this all mean?"

" **Ah. But that's elementary, my dear."**

* * *

A/N: _This is the crossover I wanted but couldn't find, so I wrote my own. Kind of. It was originally supposed to me a bit more along the lines of Prisma Illya class cards, until I realised I could never choose just seven servants, or even just one… So here we are, with me using the Fate/Journey Tarot cards as the base. This is also kind of an experiment, let me know what you thing about it!_

 _Anyways. To the problem on hand: These cards are awesome, but some of the servants are exclusive to the Nasuverse, so I had to replace them. And I still hadn't filled up all the spots, so maybe you can help me with that. Here's the list of cards than don't have a servant fixed to them yet:_

 _III. The Empress (Originally had Ishtar), VI. The Lovers (originally had Iri and Kiritsugu), IX. The Hermit – not sure if I should keep Sasaki Kojiro or go for Mushashi instead, X. The Wheel of Fortune (Originally had Waver) I'm thinking King David, because I like his design or Queen of Sheba, XIV. Temperance (originally had Ryougi Shiki), XV. The Devil – not sure if I should keep Shuten Doji, XVII. The Star – I'm not really sure about Andersen_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: **I own nothing!**

 _Sorry this took so long! I had this drafted very soon after the first chapter, but then Christmas happened, followed by the exam period. Which this time consisted mainly of written tasks. And school took priority. But now we're here! Enjoy!  
I also want to thank everyone who suggested Servants! The Empress is now Semiramis (and I admit she didn't even cross my mind, I was thinking maybe Nero, but Semiramis fits better) and The Wheel of Fortune is The Queen of Sheba. As for the Devil – the suggestion of Oda Nobunaga (on AO3) is genious and I am seriously considering her. What do you think? And feel free to keep throwing your suggestions at me._

 _Also, do you want a list of the future servants? OR do you want it to be surprise? I don't really mind, though I planned to reveal them as the story goes. But if you want to know, I'll tell you, no problem._

* * *

『 _And so the Wheels of Fate begin to Turn…_ 』

When Izuku finally arrives home, he's still shaking a bit. He says hello to his mother and races into his room, where he promptly collapses on the bed. Today has been tiring but it's not the time for sleeping yet, Izuku still has a ton of questions. He's just very glad that there's no school tomorrow.

The last thing he feels like is seeing Kacchan and his suite of followers again.

With a groan, Izuku gets up and reaches for a blank notebook. He has these prepared for future quirk analysis, but this takes precedence. He settles back on the bed and pulls out the cards. He looks at the top one again, reassuring himself that what happened on the roof wasn't a dream.

It was not. The top card, The Fool, still displays a blue-haired man in a coat. Izuku takes several deep breaths, trying to gather his courage. Then, he softly whispers: "Holmes-san?" The response is immediate.

"I told you to drop the -san, we'll be stuck together for quite some time, I assume. There's no need for formalities. Now, what is it you need?"

The spirit materialises in front of Izuku, no longer a disembodied voice. He looks exactly like the picture on the card, complete with a pipe that has smoke coming from it. It's some kind of ghostly smoke, because Izuku can't smell it, which is very weird and-Izuku has to stop his own trail of thoughts, this is not the most important thing right now!

"Um…" Izuku shows the notebook to the spirit, "Can you explain to me what you said on the rooftop? I was kind of shocked and didn't really understood that much… Plus I can now make notes…"

The spirit, whose name is apparently Sherlock Holmes (as Izuku learnt), sighs.

"Very well. I hate repeating myself, but your arguments are valid. So pay attention, I won't be repeating this for a third time."

Izuku opens the notebook and Sherlock continues:

"As I've told you, I'm a being known as 'Heroic spirit.' Now, don't let the name fool you, not all the Heroic spirits are worthy of the hero title. It'd be more appropriate to call them 'the spirits of people famous enough to linger in humanity's memory' but I suppose that's mouthful."

Izuku looks up from where he is writing his notes and asks: "So this means… 'Heroic spirits' are all the dead people who were famous…?"

Sherlock shakes his head, "Not quite. Majority of the heroic spirits are heroes of past, remembered through stories, legends and myths. However, as I stated before, not only 'heroes' are among them; tragic figures, or evil masterminds, all those who left their mark in the history of mankind."

"So heroes from legends…" Izuku frowns, trying to remember some of the old stories he read as a small kid in the colourful books in the local library, "Like Momotarō? Or is it only real people, like Miyamoto Musashi?"

Sherlock smiles a little and nods, "Both. It doesn't matter if the person really existed or not, as long as they are remembered in some way and form, they are eligible to ascent to the Throne of Heroes."

"Throne of Heroes…?"

"The place where all the Heroic spirits dwell, not confined by time and space. And," Sherlock can see the kid opening his mouth to ask more questions, "let's leave it at that. No need to make things more complicated that necessary," Sherlock certainly doesn't want to fry this poor kid's brain. He seems very bright, which is why Sherlock responded to the silent call for help earlier on the rooftop. But still, better start with the basics and then proceed to the more complicated things.

Izuku nods, "Okay. Got it. So now… the cards?"

"Ah yes, the cards. This is the point where we delve into the realm of theories. I greatly dislike making conclusions without having all the facts but the sad truth is that I won't be able to gather all the clues to fully decode this mystery."

Sherlock sighs sadly but continues, nonetheless.

"They appear to be an attempt to create a ritual for summoning the Heroic spirits into this world. Or to be more precise: the cards were supposed to hold the『essence』of the Heroic spirit thus allowing the holder of the cards to use the strength of the Spirit."

Izuku suddenly looks up from his notes, face horrified. "You mean… these cards were supposed to trap the Heroes in them!?"

Sherlock nods: "Indeed. The magi probably deduced that it was the safer option, since if you just summon the Spirit as a familiar, there's always a chance they will get out of control and kill their master. If you just trap them, they have no way of disobeying the one holding the cards."

Izuku looks at the cards as if they were a torturing device and shivers. Sherlock takes note of his obvious discomfort.

"However… It seems that this attempt had failed and the cards, useless as they appeared, were discarded. Somehow, they ended up forgotten in that library where you come across them."

"So they were a failed experiment… but…" Izuku bites his lip, "If they don't work… how was I able to… summon you?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Sherlock smiles a bit, "Frankly, I do not know. Was there some residual magic in the cards? Did they just activate belatedly? Or was it you? Do you have some latent magical talent? Or is it the prominent power of this age, called 'Quirk'? I don't yet know the answers to those questions. However, it is quite an exciting mystery!"

"Um…" Izuku murmurs, "it's not a quirk. I… I don't have one…"

Sherlock just nods and takes this bit of information into consideration, "I see. If that's the case, then logic dictates magic is what allowed this. But why, and how?"

Izuku sighs and the Spirit sitting across raises an eyebrow in an unspoken question.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Izuku pauses for a while, then continues, "the idea of magic is kind of… ridiculous, you know?"

"And why is that? You live in a world where people breath fire and have herculean strength. Yet the idea of magic seems impossible?"

The world's greatest detective is still looking at Izkuku pointedly, and Izuku squirms under the piercing gaze.

"I don't know! Just… it's… it's magic! I've always been told that magic exists only in kid's dreams, everything in the real world can be explained by science. Even quirks!"

"Well then. Perhaps you should thing of magic as of a unique energy, that not everyone can use, but which has its own set of rules and limitations. It is not all powerful and it cannot solve all of your problems; it is merely another instrument in the hands of men."

Their debate is suddenly interrupted as the doors of Izuku's room open slowly. Izuku whips his head to the side so fast it hurts, and there stands his mom, Midoriya Inko, with a worried frown on her face.

"Izuku, I've called you three times already! Did something happen?" Her gentle tones does not help calm Izuku down and it takes almost all of his willpower not to look at the Spirit sitting on his bed. There's no way she won't notice him.

"Um, no? Everything's fine! I was just… taking notes, see?" Izuku holds up his notebook and Inko's face softens. Izuku's still sweating bullets.

"Oh, sweetie. You and your notes," Inko's smile is warm and fond, as she turns around to walk away, "Think you can survive without them for a while? Diner's ready!"

With the promise of food, the doors close. Izuku looks at Sherlock, relieved and bewildered at the same time. The detective says nothing, as the truth is obvious – Inko couldn't see the Heroic Spirit, despite standing in front of him and looking at him. Or rather, through him.

It would appear, that for whatever reason, only Izuku can see and communicate with Sherlock. A curious turn of events.

Izuku looks at Sherlock and nods. Then he closes his notebook, sets it aside and jumps down from the bed. He goes to eat his food, and the Spirit follows him wordlessly. This predicament demands a few experiments, after all.

* * *

『 _'…_ _when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'_ 』

* * *

Throughout the weekend, several things are discovered.

One – only Izuku can see Sherlock. They do a few tests, but nobody reacts to the Spirit's presence. Therefore, it's safe to conclude that nobody, sans the holder of the cards, can perceive the spirit.

Two – Sherlock can, to a certain degree, interact with the things around him. He's not fully corporeal, but he's not just a spiritual being either. It's almost as if the Spirit is stuck somewhere between being fully materialised and being in his astral form.

Three – the Spirit is classless. Izuku doesn't really know what that means and why should he care, but Sherlock finds it very odd.

Four – this whole situation doesn't make that much sense.

Izuku also discovers that he likes talking with Sherlock. True, the detective certainly doesn't mince his words, but at least he is honest with Izuku, and doesn't give him that pitying look everybody else does once they learn he is quirkless.

For Sherlock, the most important thing about Izuku is not his lack of superpowers, but his intellect. Izuku is taken aback, nobody really appreciated his analytic endeavours, sans maybe his mother, but that's his mom, that doesn't count. While Sherlock doesn't hesitate to point out mistakes and overall criticise the analyses, he still approves of what Izuku does. And that alone means the world to the green-haired boy.

Sherlock also appears to be fascinated by the quirks, albeit for a slightly different reason than Izuku. Not that it matters; Izuku now has someone who is willing to listen to his babbles.

The weekend is over too quickly for Izuku's tastes. He… doesn't want to see Kacchan. Not after what he almost did because of him.

* * *

『 _'_ _There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.'_ 』

* * *

When Monday rolls over, Sherlock leaves Izuku to the woes of school (not that he knows about one Bakugou Katsuki. Yet.) and goes to explore the city. He's interested in the world and in the system of heroes. After all, being a hero as a paid occupation? Sherlock interest is certainly piqued.

So he goes to watch and learn, unbothered by the people around and not minding the tingling sensation he starts feeling soon after he leaves the house. He writes it off as a part of his current weird state of existence. A mistake unbecoming of such an observant mind, but Sherlock is still only human and he's way to excited to explore this new age of heroes and quirks. Later that day, when he comes back to Izuku, he'll want to kick himself for dismissing the strange feeling.

* * *

『' _The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.'_ 』

* * *

Izuku comes back home covered in bruises; that's nothing new. But he comes home to the welcoming smile of his mother and the piercing gaze of the world's greatest detective, and that's very much new.

But he says nothing, as always. He doesn't tell his mother he's being bullied by Kacchan and he certainly doesn't tell Sherlock. He tells the same lie as always, that he fell and injured himself.

The Spirit doesn't buy his lie but neither does he push the issue. He just keeps looking at Izuku intensely the whole evening.

The very next day, Sherlock follows Izuku to school. And doesn't like what he sees there.

Now, he expects bullying, but not quite for the reason it is happening. He expects the kids to mock Izuku's small size, his preference for brains and not brawl, even his timid behaviour. He doesn't quite foresee the kids picking on Izuku for being quirkless nor the teachers doing nothing about it!

To say he doesn't like the indifference of the adults is a gross understatement. (They're quite lucky he can't touch them.)

So in the evening, when Izuku is finishing his homework, Sherlock confronts him about the bullying. Izuku, who can't lie to save his life (except maybe to his mom), eventually tells Sherlock everything. This only cements Sherlock notion that something is wrong with the society of this age.

Still, he's determined to help Izuku somehow. It's been only a few days and the kid already grew on him; but you try resisting that Midoriya charm! (It has to be at least A+.)

"Have you tried talking to the teachers?" Sherlock asks, though mostly to confirm what he already suspects.

"Yeah… They… never did anything. And I can't tell mum, she'll worry and then call auntie and then everything will be worse," Izuku says, voice trembling.

"Hmm…" Sherlock crosses his arms on his chest as he is unsure how to proceed. If Izuku was more confident in his own skills, then maybe the kids would leave him alone, despite his quirk-ness. But how to boost the kid's confidence when it's practically non-existent at this point?

"Um… Holmes-san… Do you know how to fight?" Izuku's quiet question interrupts Sherlock inner musing.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with that. My primary weapon is my mind and while I know some hand-to-hand combat, I'm no teacher."

"Um, no…! I wasn't suggesting something like that, I was just asking…" Izuku waves his arms as to deny such an assumption.

"Oh, but you were. Deep down, you want to know how to fight, probably to defend your loved ones, given your personality. Yet, your afraid that the possible teacher will judge you by your lack of quirk."

Izuku feels his breath catch in his throat. There's the power of deduction Sherlock's so famous for. (Yes. Izuku did some research on Sherlock Holmes, courtesy of Google.)

"Umm…" But he can't deny it, not in front of the detective, "Yes…"

Just as he says this, one of the cards in the Tarot deck on the bed starts glowing. He yelps and reaches for the cards to see what's happening, but the light brightens. It's almost blinding and Izuku has to cover his eyes.

The light eventually dims and when Izuku opens his eyes again, he's shocked to see there's a woman in his room now. She's clad in a purple-ish body armour and is holding a rather wicked-looking red spear. She's got red eyes and her gaze is as piercing as Sherlock's.

And while the world's greatest detective merely raises an eyebrow at this turn of events, Izuku's intelligent response is: "Er… what?"

The woman merely smiles; her smile is full of teeth.


End file.
